When We Meet Again Rewrite
by GabsGen
Summary: Misty comes for a visit in Sinnoh, and tensions between her and a certain trainer from  Pallet Town are rising. Will some old childhood friends known to none but Ash help things along? And what's going on with Team Galactic? Full Summary Inside
1. Prologue

Hi! I'm GabsGen, and welcome to the prologue of the rewrite of my first story, When We Meet Again, Will You Know How I Feel? ! There is no need to read the original, as I believe it sucks royally, but feel free to if you're really that curious. I won't bore you with them now, but my muses will sometimes be joining me for chats and question answering at the ends (and occasionally beginnings) of chapters. Maybe next time. Feel free to ask any questions, and I will do my best to reply via either review reply or PM in a timely fashion.

**Update Schedule:** I will do my best to update once a week, but please do not hold me to this. I will also NOT set a certain day, as it all depends on when I am able to get on and update.

**Full Summary:** Misty comes for a visit in Sinnoh, and tensions between her and a certain trainer from Pallet Town are rising. Will some old childhood friends known to none but Ash help things along? And what's going on with Team Galactic? One thing is for sure-it involves Legendaries, Aura, and the Chosen One…

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing in this story except the plot and some characters that don't even show up for a couple chapters. Please enjoy!

* * *

Prologue

The morning of the day they were to arrive in Veilstone City, Ash Ketchum was up before sunrise, against all odds. He sat at the top of the hill watching the sunrise, a goofy smile on his face. 'Misty…' he thought, picturing the fiery redhead in his mind.

"Pikapi…?" came a groggy voice, startling Ash out of his thoughts. Ash's partner, Pikachu, came up to him and crawled onto his lap, seeking some extra warmth from the somewhat chilly morning. Ash smiled and started to pet Pikachu's back, welcoming the familiar and comforting weight.

"Hey, Buddy," he whispered, before slipping back into his thoughts of Misty. "Today we see her, Pikachu. We get to see Misty again."

"Pikachupi?" asked Pikachu, lifting his head to look Ash in the face, his ears perking up. Ash chuckled. After all this time, he could almost completely understand his best friend.

"Yes, Pikachu. Pikachupi." Pikachu's name for Misty felt foreign coming from his lips, yet weirdly familiar at the same time. He took out the pink and yellow handkerchief Misty had given him and looked at it fondly; lovingly. 'Misty…I wonder how much she's changed,' he thought, putting the handkerchief to his cheek. Sometimes he thought he caught a whiff of something indescribable, something unique, something that could only be known as Misty to his senses.

The sun had risen completely by this point. Hearing Brock wake up Dawn and start to make breakfast, Ash headed down the hill with Pikachu in his arms, surprising his friends with how early he was up.

**In another place...**

Quite far away, a figure covered in shadow smirked an evil smirk and began to laugh evilly. "The time is almost upon us!" he crowed, his closest and most loyal associates laughing along with him, even as a chill went down their backs at all the evil intent in the room…

* * *

Meh, I don't really like the end…oh, well. Looking back, I guess this prologue ISN'T longer than the original, like I previously thought. Again, oh, well. I know not much happened, but I tend to set the scene and describe what's going on both in and out of the characters' heads more than I do dialogue. I apologize for that. Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed, and I look forward to hearing from you! Any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, and I'll be glad to answer any questions! Please review! Until next week, Gabs out!


	2. Chap 1: Enter Misty! And Embarrassment

Gabs: Hey, all! This is earlier than I planned, but my mom is with my younger brothers at the martial arts training that just serves to make them more violent, so I thought, why not post chapter one now?

Ota (Gabs' 'Otaku Muse'): What do they do again? MMA?

Gabs: Something like that. I apologize in advance, but the POV kind of switches around a lot. Anyway, can you do the disclaimer for me, Ota?

Ota: Sure! GabsGen doesn't own Pokemon. If she did, it'd probably get pretty dark at times…

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Chapter One

Dawn was curious. For some reason she couldn't fathom, Ash kept getting more and more excited the closer they got to Veilstone City. Pikachu seemed excited as well; his ears kept twitching in all directions, as if he were listening for something. Dawn turned her attention to Brock. It was true that his face was usually hard to read, but it was impossible for her to read at the moment. The only conclusion she could come to was that the boys (all three of them!) were hiding something from her; something big. Thus, she was left to her thoughts, trying to figure out the big secret.

Brock smirked inwardly. He had noticed Dawn glance at him, a puzzled expression on her face. So she still had no idea what had Ash so riled up? Perfect. Everything was moving along right on schedule. He opened his eyes an imperceptible amount and began searching the crowd that was growing ever closer for a flash of red-orange.

Pikachu smelled her before he saw her and leaped from Ash's shoulder, startling the three trainers. He took off through the crowd, dodging people and other Pokemon. The only thing on his mind was getting to the source of the scent, and get there he would.

Ash was shocked for a moment when Pikachu leapt off from his shoulder and began to run, before a wide grin spread across his face and he began chasing his oldest friend, ignoring Dawn's cry of "Ash, wait!"

"Wait up, Ash!" Dawn yelled again, being ignored again. Suddenly Brock started off as well, following the Pokemon Master-in-training. "Not you, too!" Dawn said, exasperated, before starting to jog after her friends and traveling companions.

Ash caught up with Pikachu in time to see him jump into the arms of a young woman, crying out "Pikachupi!" as he did so. Ash came to a halt a few feet away, mesmerized. Her bright red-orange hair was still tied in that short side-ponytail she always had. He saw that she had changed back to her original outfit: short jean shorts, yellow tank top and red suspenders, with plain red trainers on her feet.

She giggled and buried her face into the fur on the yellow mouse's head. "I missed you, too, Pikachu!" she said, before lifting her face to the trainer in front of her. "Ash…" she murmured, staring into his warm chocolate colored eyes. Ash's breath caught in his throat as the sparkling sea green eyes met his own brown.

"Mist…" he whispered, before stepping forward and, on impulse, wrapped his arms around her, Pikachu nimbly leaping to the ground right before contact was made, landing next to the forgotten baby Azurill.

At first startled by the sudden contact, Misty soon returned the gesture and hugged Ash back. This is how Brock and Dawn found them, Brock shocked at the show of affection, and Dawn wondering who the girl was, though thinking she looked a lot like that lure Ash wouldn't let her use. Dawn was about to say something to announce their presence, but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She turned her head to see Brock, a smirk on his face. Seeing the metaphorical question mark on the girl's face, his smirk grew and he put his finger to his lips, making the universal sign for "sshh." Still confused, Dawn nodded.

Brock stepped closer, to a position where both teens would be able to clearly see him should they look away from each other. The smirk still on his face, he said in a moderately loud voice, "Ash! Misty! Why didn't you guys tell me you finally confessed?" This had the expected effect, with the two jumping away from each other and their faces turning redder than a Corphish.

"Brock!" they both gasped, causing said person to start laughing. Dawn looked on, still confused. At the trainers' feet, Pikachu was laughing his head off. The naïve Azurill turned to the only other Pokemon she knew.

"Azurill Azu (Uncle Pika)?" she asked. Pikachu turned to her, after processing the 'Uncle' part of his title.

"Pi (What)?" he asked kindly, smiling at the baby. He took a light hold of one of her ears and pulled her closer so she wouldn't get jostled by the crowd.

"Azu Azurill Az zuzu rillzu Zurill zu Azrill (Why is Uncle Brock being mean to Mama and Papa)?" she asked, eyes wide and innocent. Pikachu spoke without thinking.

"Ka-chu? Pikapi? (Papa? Ash?)" The sound of his name (well, Pikachu's version), caused Ash to whip his still-red face in the direction of the two Pokemon. Seeing Pikachu's shocked face, he tried to think back to what he had been saying. Realizing Brock's teasing had blocked out everything but Pikachu's last word, he turned to Dawn, who still had no idea what was going on.

"Dawn, he said, getting her attention, "did you by chance hear what Pikachu said?" Dawn tilted her head to the side and put her index finger against her cheek.

"Let me see…I think he said Ka-chu then Pikapi…yeah, I'm pretty sure that was it…" she blinked. "Do you know what he said, Ash?"

Ash looked thoughtfully to the ground. "Well, Pikapi is me, and Ka-chu…" his head snapped up as his eyes widened. "Ka-chu is Papa!" he exclaimed, his face going red again when he realized he had said the last part out loud. Brock frowned, his eyebrows furrowing slightly.

"Why would Pikachu be calling you 'Papa'…?" he asked, looking at the two Pokemon. Seeing Pikachu's still shocked face, he followed the mouse's line of sight to Azurill. A figurative light bulb went off. He crouched down in front of the baby Pokemon. "Azurill," he said, holding back a laugh.

"Zu Azurill Az (Yes Uncle Brock)?" she asked, twitching her ears toward him.

"Did you call Ash 'Papa'?" Brock asked, ignoring Ash and Misty's wide eyes.

Azurill's mouth took on the form of a wide grin, her eyes sparkling. "Zu! Zu! (Yes! Yes!)" she exclaimed energetically, nodding. She hopped over to Ash and started nuzzling his leg. "Azrill (Papa)!" she cooed happily.

Ash and Misty's faces started changing color once again. They glanced at each other, but quickly looked away, faces flaming. Brock couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing, while Dawn started to giggle.

Before Brock could say anything embarrassing, Ash turned away and said, "Let's…just get back to the Pokemon Center!" Misty picked up Azurill and Pikachu climbed to his customary position on Ash's shoulder as the group headed to the Center, Brock still laughing.

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Gabs: Whew, that took forever to type up! Again, sorry for all the switching between POVs. It just…worked out that way.

Ota: We hope you enjoyed and please review! Next chapter will be out sometime next week!


	3. Chap 2: Color and Wind

Gabs: And here's Chapter 2! You meet some new characters this time!

Gab (Wisdom and Smarts Muse): Do no give away the whole chapter, Gabs…

Gabs: Oops! Sorry! Once again, I apologize if you don't like my writing style; the POV switches come about on their own and that's the way they flow. Disclaimer!

Gab: GabsGen does not own Pokemon. If she did, Ash would do all the reckless, idiotic things he did in the original episodes while retaining the small semblance of maturity he gained in Sinnoh.

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Chapter Two

They were almost to the Pokemon Center when Dawn let loose. "What is going on here?" she blurted out, causing the questioning faces of three trainers to look at her before understanding crossed them.

"Oh, right, you don't know Misty," Ash chuckled, mussing the hair at the base of his neck. He gestured next to him to Misty, who looked curious herself. "This is my best friend Misty, Gym Leader and one of the Sensational Sisters of Cerulean City." Dawn's eyes began to sparkle as she clasped her hands under her chin.

"One of the Sensational Sisters? Amazing!" she exclaimed. Misty was beginning to look intimidated by the younger girl. Flustered, she tried to brush the praise off, waving the hand that wasn't holding Azurill in front of her.

"Oh, it's nothing really," she said. "I just help my sisters with their underwater plays, that's all. I focus more on the Gym Leader aspect…" before she could say more, Brock jumped into the conversation.

"She's really good at those plays too, Dawn," he said. "You should've seen her in The Misty Mermaid a few years back." Misty blushed slightly at the mention of the play where she was a mermaid princess. As close as she and the boys were, it still embarrassed her to know they had seen her in such a skimpy outfit.

"Pika (Finally)!" Pikachu exclaimed. Misty looked up to see that they had finally reached the Center. As they walked in, she felt rather than saw Ash perk up next to her. She chanced a glance to Ash and followed his line of sight to the girl talking to Nurse Joy at the counter. She had shoulder blade length brown hair that curled slightly at the ends, and Misty saw slightly choppy bangs and sparkling brown eyes when the girl turned her face to address the Espeon at her feet.

Pikachu jumped to the tiled floor and pattered over to the Espeon. The girl blinked at the two before a look of recognition crossed her face and she turned to the four trainers. A smile blossomed on her doll-like face before she started over to the group.

"Hey, Ash. Long time no see," she said in a somewhat quiet voice, grinning up the couple inches' difference between them.

"Hi, Hazel," Ash smiled, then seemed to wait expectantly for something. After a few seconds, he said, "Well? Where's my hug?" He opened his arms wide. Hazel giggled before stepping into Ash's arms, standing on her boot clad toes to put her own arms around his neck as his went around her tiny waist. Misty, stewing in anger and jealousy, saw a flash of pitch black against pale skin. Not knowing what it was, she ignored it and went on seeing red.

A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the bottom of Hazel's short skirt. Dawn followed the hand up the arm it was attached to, to the face of a teenage boy around Ash's age with stone grey hair and eyes, which at the moment were darkened with an emotion unknown to the young Dawn. The smirk on his face seemed to be little evil. Dawn took this all in within the space of a few seconds.

"I see lace…" the new stranger said teasingly, pulling on the skirt, his smirk growing bigger when Hazel jumped away from Ash, her ivory skin flushing a deep red.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed, pulling her skirt farther down over her bottom. She then began babbling more apologies. Misty, realizing what the earlier flash of black must've been, blushed slightly.

Ash chuckled, cutting off Hazel's babbling. "It's ok, I'm used to your unintentional flashing." This gave Brock, Dawn, and Misty all pause, before Misty started to go for her mallet. Ash yelped in pain before her hand made contact with the handle, though, and she looked to see Hazel pulling her fist away from Ash's head, her face still red. The grey-haired boy took his turn and flicked Ash's forehead. Before he could speak, Brock opened his big mouth.

"Oh?" He said, smirking. "What else has she shown you? Ow!" he yelped, a fuming Misty pulling away her mallet and an indifferent Croagunk-that had once again let himself out of his Pokeball to use a Poison Jab-beginning to drag him off.

The grey-haired boy growled and suddenly pulled Hazel to his side. She stumbled against him at the sudden movement, her hand falling on his chest. "My neko," he growled, nipping at Hazel's neck.

Dawn, being the fashion conscious girl she was, ignored all the talking and fighting, deciding instead to focus on the newcomer's choice in outfits. The girl, Hazel, was wearing a black thigh-length skirt, blue thigh-high stockings, black knee-high boots, and a blue sleeveless button-up shirt with a white belt over it, cinched tight around her tiny waist. She also had on black fingerless gloves that went to her elbows, and a sleeveless red form-fitting vest that went to her thighs and was open in front.

The boy ('What's his name anyway?' Dawn wondered) seemed to favor black and dark blue more than the girl at his side, who also had splashes of white and red. He wore a hooded dark blue jacket over a grey t-shirt with a large navy 'X' on the front. He had on black open-palmed gloves, rain boots, and jeans. His hair was slick and straight, as if it was wet.

Dawn was brought out of her observations by Ash's chuckle. "Don't worry, Kaze, we know she's yours," he said, before he turned to Dawn, Misty, and the newly-recovered Brock. "I guess you all want an explanation, right?" Receiving three nods, he gestured to the two semi-strangers next to him. "This is Hazel Lee and Kaze Strum. They're old childhood friends from Pallet and are the same age as me, sixteen."

Hazel stepped forward out of Kaze's grasp and gave a small curtsy, not wanting a repeat of the earlier incident by bowing instead. "Nice to finally meet all of you," she said in her soft voice. Kaze rolled his eyes.

"Give her some time to get to know you," he said. A smirk grew on his face. "You won't be able to get her to shut up," he continued. Hazel puffed out her cheeks.

"Kaze!" she whined, aiming to slap him upside the head and missing, instead falling into Kaze's arms. She looked up into his face and gave a slight gasp at the warmth and affection in his eyes, a faint pink dusting her cheeks.

Misty and Dawn sighed wistfully, Dawn thinking about how romantic it was, Misty wishing not for the first time that a certain trainer would look at her that way. Ash's mouth made a small 'o' before he turned to Brock, a finger raised in the air.

"Oh, and Brock," he said, gaining the older male's attention, "Don't even think of going after Hazel. She's with Kaze, and he's extremely possessive." As if on cue, Kaze's head snapped up and his eyes narrowed into a glare directed at Brock, his arms tightening around Hazel, pulling her flush against him.

Brock laughed and waved a hand in front of himself. "No worries," he said. "She's very pretty," here he gave Hazel a smile and a nod, "But she's too young for me. Besides," he continued, "I would never dream of breaking up a happy relationship." Kaze eyed him up a little more, than smiled.

"Why, yes," he started, "My neko is very beautiful, isn't she?" he asked, placing a kiss on her neck. Dawn nodded enthusiastically, while Misty just looked on. Realizing she hadn't seen Pikachu in a while, she began searching the floor. She finally spotted him talking animatedly to Hazel's Espeon. Azurill jumped out of her arms.

* * *

Gabs: …Let me just start out by saying that I did NOT intend for Hazel and Kaze to take up most of the chapter. I guess I wanted to try to convey as much about them as I could in the first shot. It…got away from me. On another note, please tell me whether or not you like the direction I'm taking with Ash! All I really did was take the semi-maturity he got in Sinnoh and added some more to it. Please tell me your opinion on it!

Gab: You basically said the same thing twice…

Gabs: Whatever. Please feel free to ask any questions! And please specify if you want it answered via PM or chapter! Reviews are welcome as well! ;) See you next week!


	4. Chap 3: PokeTalk Time!

**Important A/N:** Just me this time, because I want to address a very good point brought up by Jenakin Ramsobi (and later that same day, my boyfriend) concerning the maturity level of Ash's 'flashing line' in the last chapter. Looking back, I must say that I agree with both that the line was a bit mature for Ash, even though I am attempting to make him more mature than he is in the show. I must admit it didn't seem that bad when I wrote it. If I in any way made you think Ash was implying he was fine with it, I apologize. He didn't mean it like that, and it was not meant to be implied. He simply meant that Hazel is so clumsy and it's happened plenty enough that it simply doesn't phase him anymore. That, and Kaze is actually a pretty bad influence on them both.

And now to a happier note! I thought that this week we'd take a different route and see what Pikachu is up to! This starts at about the halfway point of Chapter Two. And yes, I am aware it's short. Please try to deal with it. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon. Simple as that.

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Chapter Three

Let's see what the Pokemon have been up to, shall we?

"Hi Espeon, Hazel!" Pikachu exclaimed, pattering over to the two. He chuckled as Hazel looked confused for a moment before recognizing him and turning to Pikapi and his friends. While Pikachu was sure the reunion and introductions would be entertaining-especially since Kaze should be around somewhere-he preferred to catch up with his old friend Espeon.

"Pikachu! How have you been?" Espeon asked, her amethyst eyes lighting up. Pikachu laughed and patted her head.

"I'm good! And how is my honorary little sister doing?" Espeon licked her paw and started washing her face.

"I'm great. Though I still haven't found a good Umbreon to settle with," she huffed.

Pikachu rose an eyebrow. "Why an Umbreon? Why not someone else from your line?" Espeon looked at him with a face that seemed to say, 'Seriously?'

"Umbreon is pretty much my counterpart. Think about it: Dark and Psychic. Be some pretty powerful Eevee right there, in my opinion." She sighed. "But all the Umbreon I've met are either weaklings or jerks. I refuse to mate with a jerk!" she exclaimed, her voice rising a bit.

"Heh heh heh…" Pikachu fake laughed, sweat dropping. 'I guess I won't mention Gary's Umbreon, then,' he thought. 'She obviously hasn't seen him in a while if she doesn't know he changed. And she would Iron Tail me before I got a chance to explain…' He was suddenly broken out of his thoughts by his pseudo-sister's voice. "Sorry, what?" he asked.

Espeon rolled her eyes. "I _said_," she started, laying down on the tile, "Enough yapping about my non-existent love life. What about you? You got a girl yet?" An evil grin started to spread on her feline-like face as Pikachu started to blush and stutter. "Oh hoho…" she chuckled, delicately raising her eyebrows. "What have we here? Seems like I've hit the jackpot! So, who is she?" she asked, calming down some.

Pikachu, still blushing, looked away and rubbed the back of his head. "Well," he started, "She's a Pokemon on Dawn's team…" Espeon glanced over at the group of trainers, noticing that Kaze had joined them at some point. Her eyes narrowed on Dawn, the only person she had never heard anything about.

"The new girl, right?" she asked. Then, without waiting for confirmation, continued on, "She doesn't look like a battler…" her eyes came to rest on Pikachu, who shook his head.

"She's not. She's a coordinator. But her Pokemon are still plenty strong." Espeon looked at him for a few seconds, making him uneasy, before nodding.

"Very well," she said, getting more comfortable on the tile. "So, who's the lucky girl you're crushing on?"

Pikachu started blushing again. "Well, you see, uh, she, um, she actually liked me first…" Espeon cut him off.

"It doesn't matter who liked who first! You like her now, right?" she asked. Seeing Pikachu nod, she continued, "Then that's all there is to it! Now, who's the girl?"

A name was all that left Pikachu's mouth. "Buneary," he said, revealing something that not even Ash knew, though he might had suspected.

A smile grew on Espeon's face and she started to nod enthusiastically. "Nice! You snagged yourself a Normal-Type! Not bad, Big Brother, not bad!" Before they could continue on-much to Pikachu's relief-they heard a cry. They turned to the voice.

~WWMA~

"Azurill!" cried Misty as the baby Pokemon jumped out of her arms and toward Pikachu and Espeon. She started after her little Pokemon, but was held back by Ash's hand on her shoulder.

"Azurill will be fine, Misty," he said with a smile. "She's with Pikachu and Espeon. Nothing will go wrong." Misty bit her lip, then nodded as she watched Azurill bounce happily over to the older Pokemon.

~WWMA~

"Uncle Pika!" Azurill exclaimed giddily, landing next to Pikachu.

Espeon giggled. "Uncle Pika?" she whispered, raising a delicate eyebrow at said Pokemon. Pikachu chuckled and shook his head exasperatedly.

"She has this notion that I'm her uncle," he said, smiling. "I don't know where she got it, though…" he trailed off, looking questioningly at his "niece."

Azurill looked up and stated matter-of-factly, "You're Papa's brother, so you're Uncle Pika!" Espeon couldn't hold it in and started laughing, causing Azurill to look at her, "Who are you?" Azurill asked.

Calming herself down, Espeon replied, "I'm Espeon. I'm like your Uncle Pika's younger sister." Hearing this, Azurill's face lit up.

"Auntie Espe!" she exclaimed, bouncing forward and nuzzling the pale purple Psychic-Type. Espeon's face blanked for a few seconds before a large smile overtook it and she nuzzled Azurill back. She had always liked children, after all.

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**A/N 2: **Well, what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Think it's ok? And please tell me if you think I should make more chapters like this, showing how the Pokemon interact with each other during the main story. Or maybe I should make them into a little oneshot collection, to be added to whenever…now that's an idea…please tell me your opinion!

I love your input and see you next week! GabsGen out!


	5. Chap 4: The Beginning of the Plan

**A/N: **GabsGen here for another chapter of When We Meet Again! This time is…a little different. You'll see! Just keep reading! And yes, I know the characters are OOC. So is everyone else in this story.

**IMPORTANT: **Yes, I know this chapter is super short. It just ended up that way. But BECAUSE it is short, you all get a surprise: two chapters are going up this week! Partly because the next one is short as well…but either way, please enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** My name is not Satoshi Tajiri, nor am I a guy, so I don't own Pokemon.

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Chapter Four

The agent stepped forward into the office, file in hand. He stepped into the small circle that was the only light in the shadowed office. The light revealed him to be Saturn, the blue-haired member of Team Galactic's Four Commanders. He held up the file.

"Here's the file you wanted, Sir," he said, placing the file on the desk. A hand reached out of the shadows and took the file without a word. Saturn seemed to hesitate before speaking up again. "Although I must ask, Sir, are you sure this trainer is the one? He seems…mediocre, at best."

The lights flashed on, blinding the young man for a few seconds. When he got his vision back, he looked to the desk and looked Cyrus in the eyes unflinchingly. After a minute or two, though, he had to look away from the steel in his boss's eyes. The leader of Team Galactic smirked.

"His skills and strategy may seem mediocre at first glance," Cyrus began, "But that is not important at the moment. What is, is that this…boy, has seen many a Legendary, many of whom would reveal themselves only to the true Chosen One, given a choice. A choice, and a chance. Yes, there is no doubt about it, he is the one.

"But, Sir," Saturn pressed on, "Why does it matter that we know who the Chosen One is?" Cyrus cocked his head to the side, a disturbing grin on his face. He started to chuckle darkly.

"Why, Saturn," he chuckled, standing up behind his desk, "If you have the Chosen One, the Legendaries will come running…" he scattered the pictures contained in the file out on the desk, revealing covertly taken snapshots of a teenager with a hat covering his unruly dark hair and a Pikachu on his shoulder. The file itself followed. The file proclaimed the boy to be Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town in Kanto. All laughter left Cyrus's face and voice. "Find him," he ordered darkly, sitting back down in his recently vacated chair.

Saturn nodded and bowed, before turning and leaving the office. As the door closed behind him, his face fell into an indifferent mask, already planning ways to track down the young trainer. If all went well, Ash Ketchum would end up as bait for the Legendaries.

* * *

**A/N: **Once again, please remember that this is only part one of a double update. And please remember that I am aware that Cyrus and Saturn are completely OOC, especially Cyrus. I didn't realize that until after I had written the chapter. I don't have Diamond, Pearl, or Platinum(no DS), and I somehow managed to miss most of the episodes with Team Galactic, so I wasn't able to get a good feel for them from what I did see. I apologize. All I ask is that you please try to accept them like you seem to have accepted(for the most part) the changes in the other characters we all know. Thank you, and please review!


	6. Chap 5: Story of a Friendship and a Name

**A/N: **And here is Part Two of the double update! Please be aware that I don't plan on doing this often, but that doesn't mean it's a one time thing, either. These are being posted at the same time because they are both shorter than usual and stand better alone than they do together, otherwise I would've put them as one chapter.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon. Woe is me. Please enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Five

Kaze eyed Ash's friends. Brock and Misty were Gym Leaders, he knew, but he knew next to nothing about Dawn. He turned questioning eyes to his fellow male Pallet Town trainer. 'Coordinator,' Ash mouthed when he noticed Kaze's look. Kaze nodded. '_A coordinator, hm?_' he thought, a smirk growing on his face. '_Maybe she'll be able to teach Hazel some grace…_' A silent snicker left his lips.

"So, Ash," asked Hazel, "How are Pikachu and your other Pokemon? Oh, hi, Espeon! Did you have fun talking to Pikachu?" Hazel's attention had landed on the purple feline and yellow mouse, Azurill following close behind. Espeon nodded an affirmative to Hazel's question before gathering her hind legs under her and jumping into Ash's arms.

Ash himself looked exasperated. "Well, I was expecting that sooner or later…" he muttered, looking down at the Pokemon getting comfortable in his arms. He looked back up, and seeing his friends hiding laughter-except Brock, who was just outright laughing-rolled his eyes. He turned back to Hazel. "Pikachu and the others are fine," he said. "And as soon as you get your little monster," here he bounced Espeon slightly, "Out of my arms, you can meet them all." He pondered the sudden silence from behind him. "What?" he asked after turning and seeing Brock, Dawn, and Misty's somewhat shocked faces. Dawn broke out of it first.

"You called a Pokemon a monster, Ash. That's not like you…" she trailed off, looking worried. Ash blinked, confused for a moment, then started chuckling. Brock and Misty exchanged looks that clearly said they thought Ash had finally lost it.

Still chuckling slightly, Ash said, "I didn't mean it literally. Little monster is just my nickname for Hazel's Espeon, like Pikachu is my Buddy." Ash knelt and deposited Espeon on the ground, giving her a gentle shove in Kaze's direction. "Shoo, go bother Kaze's Quagsire or something."

Head and tail held high, Espeon strutted away, causing the others to laugh. Placing her front paws on Kaze's leg, she nosed one of the Poke balls hidden in the pocket of his jacket. A flash of red light later, a powerful-looking Quagsire was talking animatedly with Espeon. Everyone laughed, and Misty took her chance.

"Hey, Ash," she started, "Why did you start calling Espeon little monster?" Brock and Dawn turned curious faces to Ash, who pinked a little and looked away. Kaze chuckled and stepped forward.

"I'll take this one Ash," he chuckled, dodging a half-hearted slap from said trainer. "But first," he continued, "Let's sit down, shall we?" The others all nodded, and the six trainers, plus their Pokemon, gravitated to one of the many couches in the Pokemon Center.

"So you see," Kaze started, "It all started when Hazel here found an abandoned Pokemon egg when the three of us were about five years old. Despite it being abandoned, Professor Oak said it was healthy, and Hazel's parents let her keep it.

"The egg eventually hatched into an Eevee that knew Shadow Ball. We all loved playing with Eevee, and vice-versa. But then Eevee decided-on her own, mind you-to start practicing her moves. Her favorite target for Shadow Ball was Ash, who would run away and call her a little monster. The name just stuck." Here Kaze sent a wide grin at Ash, who pulled his hat down to hide his red face. Kaze turned back to the others. "Even now, after evolving into Espeon, she can't help a Shadow Ball in his direction every once in a while."

As if to prove his point, Espeon shot a low power Shadow Ball at Ash's feet, causing him to let out a yelp, Hazel to exclaim "Espeon!", and everyone else to laugh good-naturedly. Ash glared at the purple feline who replied with a grin and chuckle before getting comfy on Hazel's lap.

* * *

**A/N: **And there goes the last of my pre-prepared chapters…oh, well. Oh, and concerning Shadow Ball, Eevee can know it as an Egg Move, so I believe it's safe to assume that Espeon would still be able to know it when it evolves. At least that's what my boyfriend said. Blame him if it's wrong.

**Semi-Important: **The Gym Battles are coming up soon, and I want your opinion regarding Hazel's battle(her other half already has his badge). Do you want to see the actual battle, or do you just want me to show the battle beginning and then do a time-skip to the end and show you the result? Now, the battles aren't next chapter, but they are coming soon. So please tell me your opinion! The poll is on my profile, or you can tell me in a review if you prefer. Either way, I need to know before I start writing Hazel's part.

Good-bye 'til next week, and please review! Gabs out!


	7. Chap 6: Berries and Weight

**A/N: **Ok, let me say this outright: this chapter sucks (in my opinion) and did not want to be written. Seems that writer's block has hit. No matter; I'll get through it! And I have just realized I haven't yet thanked my reviewers publicly! So, thank you to everyone that's reviewed so far! It always makes me happy to get an email saying I got a review. And thank you as well to everyone that has added the story to their favorites and/or alerts lists, and to everyone that has added me to their author lists! Please enjoy the chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon, but I think I own the theory of the result of eating too many berries…correct me if I'm wrong, though!

* * *

Chapter Six

A stomach growled. Most everyone looked expectantly at Ash. He held his hands in front of himself and shook his head. "Wasn't me," he said. Brock embarrassingly rose a hand.

"It was me…" he said, a slight blush on his cheeks. Misty giggled. "What?" Brock defended himself. "We didn't eat this morning because Ash wanted to get into Veilstone as soon as possible!" Misty blinked in surprise and looked at Ash, Kaze and Hazel following suit.

"Really? Ash Ketchum, food lover extraordinaire, willingly skipped a meal?" Misty asked incredulously.

Before Ash could even attempt to defend himself, Dawn said, "Shocking, isn't it? But true all the same," she added. "And he wouldn't tell us why. Just said he wanted to get to Veilstone." She turned to Ash, the object of their conversation. "Why _did _you want to get to Veilstone so early, anyway?" Ash blushed slightly and looked down, muttering incoherently. "What was that?" Dawn asked.

"I…I wanted to see Misty…" he said quietly, sneaking a glance at Misty as he did. He got caught in the surprised look of her jewel-bright eyes, unable to tear his own away.

Brock and Kaze looked at each other with identical smirks. "Awww, young love," they chorused, causing Ash and Misty to look away from each other and start glaring at them instead. Hazel rolled her eyes and pulled two Pecha berries out of her backpack, which she had grabbed from the floor on the way to the couch the six trainers had taken over. She broke the berries in halves, and gave a piece each to Espeon, Pikachu, and Azurill, keeping the last for herself. As she was about to put said piece in her mouth, Kaze grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the berry and said, "No." Hazel glared at him.

Misty, confused, asked, "Why can't she have a Pecha berry?" The others nodded their heads, wondering the same thing themselves.

Kaze rolled his eyes and said, "Because she had a bunch of Pecha and Oran berries this morning, and she'll make herself sick if she eats more." Brock, Dawn, and Misty looked surprised that anyone could eat that many berries, while Ash chuckled.

"Again?" he asked. Seeing his past and present traveling companions' questioning faces, he added, "Hazel's always had a habit of eating more berries at once than what would be considered 'healthy'. Though," and here he began to frown, "I guess it's not something to laugh about, seeing as there were a couple extreme cases she had to be rushed to the hospital in Viridian because of it…"

Rising from the couch and dusting off her skirt while avoiding the concerned faces now turned her way, she said, "That was before I knew my limits. Now, since I'm guessing we're all hungry, let's go eat." She walked toward the cafeteria, dragging both Ash and Kaze by the hands.

"Yeah!" Ash agreed. "Then we can go to the gym and get that badge!" Misty sighed and shook her head.

"Typical Ash," she said. "Always thinking about food and battling." This inevitably sparked one of the arguments that made up a good part of Ash and Misty's relationship. Hazel rolled her eyes and let go of Ash, not wanting her ears blown out by the yelling.

Falling into step beside Hazel, Dawn asked, "So, do you guys battle, coordinate, or do something else?"

Speaking up, Kaze said, "We battle, although Hazel likes to watch contests. I personally don't see the point, but she says it helps her think of new ways to use her Pokemon's attacks." Hazel nodded.

"What he said," she agreed, pointing at her boyfriend.

"Does that mean you two already have the badge, seeing as you were here before us?" Brock asked, having come up without anyone noticing.

Kaze smirked. "I have the badge," he started, "But little Hazel here needs a rematch. She got too, shall we say, fiery, and lost the match." Hazel pouted for a moment, but then brightened up.

"I'll win this time!" she vowed, punching the air with her fist.

WWMA

When they finally got their food and sat down, Ash started eating with an enthusiasm unmatched by anyone, causing all the others to roll their eyes. All their Pokemon - including Hazel and Kaze's - were sitting in a semi-circle around the group of trainers, happily eating Pokemon food. Except Pikachu - he was joyfully slurping down the contents of a ketchup bottle. "Pika chu pikaka… (It's been so long since I've had this…)" he murmured, causing the other Pokemon to look at him strangely.

Ash, a few moments after looking up from his food, asked, "Hazel, have you lost weight?" Many things happened at once. Kaze slammed his head on the table - narrowly missing his plate - and groaned, Brock blinked, dumbfounded, Misty hit Ash in the back of the head, and Dawn gasped before yelling out a piece of common sense.

"Ash! You never ask a girl about her weight! It's rude!" They then realized that Hazel hadn't said or done anything.

Ignoring Kaze's frantic mouthing of the word 'no', Ash pressed, "So? Have you?"

Scowling, Hazel growled, "I better not have lost weight. I don't weigh enough as it is." She savagely tore the roll in her hands in half and ate it, still scowling. She blinked. "What?" she asked when she saw everyone's faces.

"You…_don't _want to lose weight?" Misty asked incredulously. Hazel shook her head. "Why?"

"Because I'm too tiny as it is," Hazel scoffed. "I'm little more than skin and bones, and all the walking we do doesn't help." Kaze rolled his eyes.

"Your doctor said you're fine," he said. He kept eating and missed the mini-glare his girlfriend sent his way. He also missed her looking down to her own food.

"He also said I should gain instead of lose," she grumbled. After a few minutes, Dawn spoke up.

"You know, you're different from most girls, Hazel," she said. Hazel gave a small smile.

"Well, it's no fun being normal. Besides, I'm friends with Ash. No way I could be normal when I've known him most of my life." The group laughed, and the previous topic was forgotten, at least until it broke back through Hazel's defenses.

* * *

**A/N: **This whole chapter was inspired by the line, "Hazel, have you lost weight?" It popped into my head one day, and I knew I had to use it. Hope you liked it! Uhh, about the piece of berry Kaze stopped Hazel from eating, let's say he ate it when she wasn't looking, kay? And yes, my theory mentioned in the disclaimer is that if you eat too many berries, you will probably give yourself food poisoning and have to go to the hospital. Only Hazel...and maybe Ash, now that I think about it...

Come on, people! The battles are in a couple chapters (I believe), and no one's voted on how Hazel's battle should go! Remember, it can come through review, the poll on my profile, and let's add PM just for the heck of it. I want to know what you think! If no one votes by the time I start writing the chapter, I'll have to leave it to chance and pick randomly.

Please review, and remember that I appreciate constructive criticism and love to answer any questions you may have! See you next week! Gabs out!


	8. Chap 7: Meeting Maylene

**A/N: **Hey all! GabsGen here for another chapter! CSTs are done, and I can get back to writing! Oh, and I passed the CAHSEE with flying colors! I'm so proud of myself…X3 Anyway…

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen does not own Pokemon, nor do I own the CST or CAHSEE standardized tests.

* * *

Chapter Seven

Standing up from his finished mountain of food, Ash said, "Now let's get to the Gym!" Seeing as everyone else had eaten normal amounts and were already finished, no one vetoed Ash's decision. After returning all their Pokemon, the group headed out of the Center and toward the Veilstone City Gym.

"Hello?" Ash called out when they entered. "Anyone here? I want to challenge the Leader to a Gym Battle!" Just then, a man in a gi appeared. "Are you the Gym Leader?" Ash asked.

"No," the man said, shaking his head. "I am a student of the Gym. I apologize, but Maylene is not here at the moment."

"Maylene?" Ash and Dawn asked.

"The Gym Leader. Her name is Maylene," Kaze answered, Hazel nodding beside him.

"Oh," Ash said. He turned back to the man in the gi. "Do you know where Maylene is?" he asked. The group headed to the nearby forest after being told that Maylene often went there to train.

"I hope you're not planning on pestering Maylene for a battle," Misty said in a tone that implied that it was exactly what she expected Ash to do.

"Of course not!" Ash exclaimed, affronted. "I'm gonna find her and _ask _for a battle, not _pester _her for one! There's a difference!" Everyone else shared a laugh at this. It was fun to rile Ash up, after all.

All of a sudden, a ball of blue energy came their way, followed by another and another. While dodging them, one came close enough to Ash for him to identify it.

"They're Aura Spheres!" he exclaimed. Brock nodded, understanding that Ash _would _be the one to know that, while the others looked confused. The next Aura Sphere came at Ash too fast for him to dodge, so he let instinct take over and caught it. The others looked on in slight awe at the glowing ball of blue energy in their friend's hands. Ash's eyes took on a slightly blue glow, although he seemed to not notice. In a trancelike voice, he said, "It's an Aura Sphere let off by a Lucario…" He blinked, his eyes returning to normal, and looked up at his friends. "Why are you all looking at me like that?" he asked. Kaze spoke up.

"Ash, how do you know that's an Aura Sphere, let alone one from a Lucario?" he asked, putting an arm around a slightly out of breath Hazel. The others nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, Ash," Brock started, "How did you know? I had no idea your ability to sense Aura went that far." This was met with a chorus of questions from their friends, mostly pertaining to what Aura was, and Ash's apparent ability to sense it.

"Because he's a Guardian," came an unfamiliar female voice. They turned to see a pink-haired young woman in a blue and black sleeveless top, white training pants, and blue and pink fingerless gloves, with a bandage on her nose and another on her left bicep. She was barefoot and had an angry-looking Lucario by her side. "Right Lucario?" she asked the bipedal canine.

"_Yes," _he, for it was a male voice, grunted. The others gasped, while thoughts of a certain other Lucario came unbidden into Ash's mind. _"An untrained Guardian, but a Guardian nonetheless," _Lucario continued. _"I sense he has used Aura before now. Am I right?" _This last question was directed at Ash himself, who paled slightly. Ash gulped.

"Yes," he whispered, looking away into the forest. "I've used my Aura before. And I almost died doing it," he said firmly, looking back to Lucario, and ignoring gasps and paling faces. Lucario stared back for a few moments, then nodded, sensing the truth in not only Ash's words, but also in his Aura, which counted for more.

"Ash," Brock asked in a soft voice, "What really happened in the Tree of Beginning? You've never said you almost died, nor did you ever tell us what your part was in whatever happened." He turned to look at his friend, worry on his face.

"I…" Ash said, looking at the concerned faces around him, including that of the pink-haired woman. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Can we talk about this somewhere else?" he asked, pulling Pikachu off his shoulder in order to hold the yellow mouse in his arms. The pink-haired woman nodded.

"I know the perfect place," she said, and began to lead the group out of the forest. "By the way," she threw over her shoulder, "It's nice to see you again, Hazel and Kaze." The two named teenagers gave small smiles.

"You too, Maylene," they chorused, giving Ash pause.

"You're Maylene?" he asked, looking at her.

"Yes," Maylene answered. "I'm the Leader of the Veilstone Gym. Speaking of which…" She trailed off as they approached the doors of the Gym, which she pushed open. She blinked as she caught sight of purple hair. The color reminded Ash strongly of Paul. "Well, hello," Maylene said. "Did you find Paul's Electabuzz, Reggie?" The man turned around and opened his mouth to speak. Before he could say anything, a Thunderbolt came out of nowhere. When the smoke cleared, everyone saw a sparking Electabuzz.

* * *

**A/N:** And there it is! Hope you liked it. We're finally getting into Aura! Now, PLEASE vote on Hazel's battle! Here are your choices, in case you're confused:

A) Show all of Hazel's battle

B) Show the beginning of her battle, then do a time-skip and say how it ends

The battles are coming up soon, and there's only one vote on the poll. Please vote! Review, PM, or the poll itself; take your pick. Please review and continue to read the story! I always look forward to your opinions! Till next week!


	9. Chap 8: Pokeball Phobia

**A/N: **Guess who went to the Museum of Tolerance on Wednesday! I did! With half the sophomore class…that's like three-hundred kids…the bus I was on wasn't as loud as I thought it would be, though. I even got some sleep between LA and Anaheim on the way home…and it got me out of Algebra, so that's good X)

ANYWAY, enough of my rambling. Here's Chapter Eight! I hope you enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Eight

"Electabuzz!" the purple-haired man yelled angrily. "You stop that right now!" The Electabuzz scoffed and sent another Thunderbolt toward the group, this one landing right in front of Ash.

Pikachu's cheeks sparked angrily and he jumped off Ash's shoulder, yelling, "Pika chu chu Pikapi! (You leave Ash alone!)" as he did so. His tail started glowing as he swung it at Electabuzz. Electabuzz dodged the Iron Tail, and the two started fighting, ignoring yells from the trainers to stop. Dawn's Piplup jumped to the ground and joined the fight, and Misty tightened her arms on her Azurill so the naïve baby wouldn't try to join in as well.

Out of the corner of her eye, Misty saw Ash pull out a Pokeball she had never seen before. It was old-looking, but obviously well-cared for, and it had a sticker shaped like a lightning bolt right above the button. Her eyes widened. "Ash," she started, "Is that…?" She trailed off, her eyes going to Pikachu, who was ignorant of everything but the fight at the moment. Ash nodded, his face grim.

"Pikachu!" he called out in a strong voice, causing everyone, human and Pokemon alike, to look at him. "Stop fighting or I'll make you return to your Pokeball!" Pikachu froze in shock, just staring at his trainer. He couldn't believe Ash would resort to this. But then he realized that Ash's mind was probably scrambled at the moment from meeting a Lucario that reminded even Pikachu of the one they met at Cameran Palace. Noticing that Ash was still holding up the Pokeball, Pikachu leapt into his trainer's arms, causing the red and white orb to fall to the ground.

"Pika pipi, Pikapi (I'm sorry, Ash)…" Pikachu apologized. "Pika pika pi chu (I was just trying to defend you)…" Pikachu trailed off and looked up into Ash's face, and was relieved to see that his trainer didn't look angry.

Starting to stroke Pikachu's head, Ash said, "I know, Buddy. And you know I hate using the Pokeball against you. But it was the only thing I could think of that we hadn't tried already…" Pikachu nodded his understanding and gave Ash's palm a lick, showing everything was forgiven.

Kneeling down, Dawn picked up the Pokeball Ash had dropped and brought it over to the pair. "So this is Pikachu's Pokeball?" she asked, running a finger over the lightning bolt. Ash and Pikachu nodded, Pikachu glaring at his ball. Maylene noticed the look.

"Does Pikachu not like Pokeballs?" she asked, her purple-haired companion nodding next to her. Brock spoke up first.

"Not like them?" he repeated. "I think it's safe to say Pikachu hates them, seeing as I haven't ever seen that Pokeball before today." Dawn and Misty nodded in agreement. Ash sighed and put the miniaturized Pokeball in his pocket.

"Brock's right," Ash said. "Pikachu hates Pokeballs. Always has. I don't know why, though…" he trailed off, looking at the yellow mouse in his arms. The purple-haired man stepped forward.

"Maybe I could figure out the reason," he offered, then noticed Ash's questioning look. "By the way, my name is Reggie. I'm a certified Pokemon Breeder." Ash nodded his understanding and handed his first Pokemon to Reggie. Reggie sat down on a nearby couch and, after examining Pikachu for a few minutes, said, "The only theory I can come up with is that a bad experience with Pokeballs in the past led to a phobia of them. Do you have any idea what could've happened?" he asked Ash, who shook his head.

"Pikachu hasn't been in a Pokeball since I got him from Professor Oak(1)," he said. "But I doubt even he would know what happened before he caught Pikachu."

Lucario stepped forward. _"We were going to talk of your power over Aura, were we not?" _he asked, garnering nods from everyone. _"Then let us talk." _Everyone sat on the couches in the lobby of the Gym, Pikachu back in his trademark place on Ash's shoulder. Ash sighed and began the story of how he first learned about Aura, and of his ability to control it.

By its end, the story of Sir Aaron, Mew, the Tree of Beginning, and the Lucario who learned to accept friendship had everyone tearing up, if not outright crying. Everyone, that is, but Maylene's Lucario. This was to be expected for the most part, for Lucario as a species generally seemed to be stoic.

"_So that is how you were able to harness Aura so young," _Lucario said. At everyone's questioning looks, he continued, _"Only after proving one's worth to the Guardian of one of the Aura Strongholds can one use Aura. Even if they have the potential, if they don't prove themselves to a Guardian, they cannot use that potential." _Ash looked down at his hands.

"So," he started, "Even though I have the same Aura as Sir Aaron and was using his gloves, if Mew hadn't seen me as worthy, I wouldn't have been able to help?" Lucario nodded, glad that the young Guardian understood.

"Ash," Hazel spoke up, "Does Aunt Delia know about all this stuff you get up to?"

"She knows an extremely watered-down version," Ash replied. "And you won't be telling her the truth, Hazel," he added, with a small glare. Hazel waved her hand at her old friend.

"No worries there," she said. "If I do, she'll go to my parents, who'll then go to Kaze's parents, and all five of them will decide the world is too dangerous for their little angels and drag us back home. So, no, I won't be telling Aunt Delia." Kaze chuckled at this and ignored Hazel when she asked what was so funny.

* * *

**A/N: **And there we are! I really didn't mean for Pika's little phobia to take up most of the chapter. Before anyone asks, no, Ash and Hazel are not related. Hazel just calls Delia her aunt because she's known her forever. And no, the Aura Strongholds are not planned to be part of the actual story. Now for the little part labeled (1): I wrote this assuming they never get their memories from the first movie back. Now I'm all for them remembering, but I was too lazy to look up how it went, plus it sounded better this way.

Now, I'm planning for the battles to be starting next chapter, but that might change depending on how the story wants to be written. Either way, this is your last chance to get votes in! So make your choice!

Until next week! Gabs out!


	10. Chap 9: Ash and Maylene

**A/N: **Before you read the chapter, let me tell you, it sucks. Really. I really don't like it all that much, except for the end. But it's your opinion that matters, so tell me what you think! Oh, and thank you to whoever added my story to the 'Ash Ketchum: Ladies' Man' community! I was so excited when I saw that!

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Pokemon, especially the battle in the episode 'A Triple Fighting Chance!' . Pokemon would fail epically if I owned it.

* * *

Chapter Nine

"Maylene," Ash spoke up a little while later. The pink-haired woman looked up.

"Yes?" she asked.

"I challenge you to a Gym Battle!" he exclaimed, standing up from his seat.

"Wow," interjected Misty, "I can't believe it took you this long to challenge her to a battle." Brock, Dawn, and Pikachu nodded their agreement, and Ash seemed to deflate a little.

Giggling slightly, Maylene said, "Sure, Ash. I'll battle you. Hey, Hazel," she continued, "Do you want your rematch now as well?"

Looking up from a Pokeball in her hand, Hazel said, "Huh? Oh, sure. I need to see if I totally failed at training for this." Kaze rolled his eyes.

"You didn't fail at training. I helped you, remember?" he asked.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Brock.

"It means that Kaze is the better trainer," answered Ash, causing Hazel to pout. Seeing this, Ash said, "Don't pout, you know it's true." His only response was a half-hearted 'meh' from his childhood friend and Kaze's quiet laughter.

WWMA

"This Gym Battle between Ash, the challenger, and Maylene, the Gym Leader, is about to begin!" announced the referee. "This will be a three-on-three battle, and only the challenger is allowed to substitute!" Ash and Maylene each pulled out a Pokeball. Maylene moved first and sent out Machoke, while Ash sent out Staravia.

Hoping to get in the first attack, Ash orders Staravia to use Quick Attack, but is thwarted by Machoke's defensive use of Brick Break. Staravia then goes for a Whirlwind followed by Aerial Ace. Machoke dodges the dive-bombing bird Pokemon then uses Cross Chop, the crossed, glowing arms landing a critical hit on Staravia. Maylene orders multiple Brick Breaks, Machoke's glowing hand hitting Staravia almost as many times. Noticing Staravia can't afford to take any more hits, Ash orders an intense speed Quick Attack to dodge Machoke's Seismic Toss, which Staravia pulls off successfully, and then knocks out Machoke using Aerial Ace.

After returning Machoke, Maylene sends out her Meditite, while Ash stays with Staravia. Ash orders a Quick Attack, but Meditite dodges using Detect then uses Meditate in order to raise its attack power. Staravia uses Aerial Ace, but Meditite counters with the same combination of Detect and Meditate, so that the battle can be finished in one hit. As Staravia attempts to ruin Meditite's concentration as per Ash's instructions, Meditite itself bounces off the wall and hits Staravia with Drain Punch. Staravia attempts to land a hit with Aerial Ace, but instead is confused by Meditite's Confusion attack. Ash sends out Chimchar after recalling Staravia to it's Pokeball.

After being hit by Chimchar's Scratch, Meditite goes for multiple uses of Drain Punch. Chimchar dodges and uses multiple Scratch attacks, which Meditite dodges uing Detect. After a time Detect fails and Meditite is hit with Scratch several times. Chimchar manages to hit Meditite with Flamethrower, then goes for a Flame Wheel. Unfortunately, Meditite's Confusion lands first, leading to Chimchar to start using Scratch on the nearest wall. Ash calls back his fire monkey and sends Staravia, whose confusion is now cured, back out.

Meditite uses Drain Punch, but is pushed back by Staravia, who then uses Brave Bird. Meditite attempts to use Confusion but fails due to lack of energy, and is knocked out by Brave Bird. Maylene sends out her final Pokemon, Lucario, while Ash again decides to stay with his trusty bird Pokemon. Staravia goes in for a Brave Bird, but is knocked out by Lucario's counter of Metal Claw.

Ash sends out Chimchar, its Flamethrower easily dodged by Lucario. Lucario continues to use his excellent speed to dodge the multiple Flamethrowers coming his way. Chimchar attempts to get closer to Lucario using Scratch, but Lucario again dodges. Lucario uses Force Palm, the green energy hitting Chimchar. Chimchar then manages to land a perfect hit using Flame Wheel at maximum power. Chimchar attempts to use another Flame Wheel but misses due to being paralyzed by Force Palm. Lucario then hits Chimchar multiple times with Bone Rush. Chimchar uses Dig to get away, and Lucario senses for Chimchar's Aura. Lucario uses Aura Sphere on Chimchar's hiding place, throwing Chimchar out of the ground. Chimchar is then knocked out by Lucario's Metal Claw. Ash sends out Buizel as his final Pokemon of the match.

Buizel opens up with Water Gun and Lucario uses Aura Sphere. The attacks combine in an explosion, but the Aura Sphere still hits Buizel. Buizel then manages to avoid Lucario's Bone Rush. Buizel spins and uses Aqua Jet, surpassing Lucario's incoming Metal Claw and hitting the canine Pokemon. Lucario defends against Buizel's SonicBoom by spinning his Bone Rush attack, then unleashes multiple Aura Spheres. Buizel defends with SonicBoom, and is then hit by Force Palm. Lucario charges up for a maximum power Aura Sphere. It is at this time that, surprising Ash and the others, Buizel learns Water Pulse while still feeling the effect of Force Palm. Lucario uses Aura Sphere at the same time as Buizel using Water Pulse, resulting in an explosion. The two Pokemon then use a spinning Aqua Jet and Force Palm, resulting in another explosion. Both Pokemon are hurt but continue to battle in the air, Lucario using Aura Sphere and Buizel Water Pulse. The explosion that results destroys the battle field's roof. Lucario manages to recover and hits Buizel with Metal Claw.

Thinking Buizel is unable to battle, the referee begins to award the match to Maylene, but stops as Buizel gets up. Lucario goes in for a Bone Rush, and Buizel stands still, unable to move. Then, it starts to rain. Its speed dramatically increased, Buizel dodges the Bone Rush at the last second. Its Swift Swim ability has kicked in, and Buizel continues to dodge all the strikes of Bone Rush. Buizel then spins and uses Aqua Jet, while still taking some damage from Lucario's Force Palm. Lucario uses Force Palm again while Buizel uses a combination of Water Pulse and spinning Aqua Jet. Once the smoke clears, both Pokemon are seen to be knocked out, the battle resulting in a draw.

"The battle is a draw," announced the referee. "As a result, the Gym Leader decides if the challenger gets a badge."

Walking over to Ash, Maylene said, "I believe you definitely deserve the badge, Ash." She smiled. "After all, you gave me the greatest Gym Battle of my life!"

WWMA

After receiving his badge, Ash and Maylene walked over to the others. "Hazel," Maylene started, " We'll have your battle after my Pokemon rest a bit, okay?" Hazel nodded, then went back to playing with the Pichu sitting on her lap.

Seeing the Pichu, Ash leaned forward and asked, "Is this her, then?"

"Yup, this is Peach," Hazel answered.

"I meant to ask," Dawn started, "Where did you get her?"

Hazel sighed and shook her head. "Apparently my Pikachu decided to mate last time I left her with Professor Oak, and I ended up with an egg. That egg hatched into Peach here." Hazel got a little teary-eyed. "Now my docile little Pikachu's being called a slut!" Ash rolled his eyes.

"By who?" he asked.

"Gary," was Hazel's answer. It was Kaze's turn to roll his eyes.

"Hazel," he said, "You know he was playing around when he said that."

"Do you know who the father is?" asked Misty.

"Nope. No idea who the daddy is. Don't know if I wanna know, either."

With a semi-thoughtful look on his face, Ash said, "You know, from what you've told me, I would've expected that to happen with your Ninetails, not your Pikachu."

"I know, right?" was Hazel's answer. Just then the referee came over and whispered something in Maylene's ear, making her smile.

"Hazel," she said, getting the girl's attention, "Are you ready to battle?" A smile grew on Hazel's face.

"Let's do it," she said.

* * *

**A/N: **Ok, I lied. Hazel's battle is gonna be next chapter. Here's to hoping it'll be better than how I portrayed Ash's, which is exactly how it went in the anime. Bulbapedia helped me there. The only part I liked was the end. And, oh, my, I forgot all about Reggie! I'll try to give him some time next chapter. Tell me what you thought, and see you next week!


	11. Chap 10: Hazel and Maylene

**A/N: **Okay, I am so mad at myself that I missed last week's update. I was doing so well, too! I sincerely apologize for the lateness. So here's both last week's and this week's chapters, updated today. I won't try to explain my absence because everything sounds like an excuse, even if it isn't one, but if you want to know, feel free to ask.

And I have a question for ya'll. Do you think Hazel is a Mary Sue? I know she isn't perfect and has flaws, but I'm not completely sure I convey it in my writing. Please tell me your opinion!

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen doesn't own Pokemon. If she did, there would be more Gary and Ritchie would make an appearance(even though we know that second one is never gonna happen).

* * *

Chapter Ten

Still smiling, Hazel stood and plopped Peach the Pichu onto Kaze's lap, saying as she did so, "You've seen how Uncle Ash battles, so now it's time to see how Grandma Hazel battles. Stay with Grandpa Kaze. Espeon, Pikachu," she turned to the two Pokemon, "Keep an eye on them." The purple feline and yellow mouse nodded and settled themselves on either side of Kaze. Hazel grabbed three Pokeballs from her backpack and attached them to her white belt. She followed Maylene down the bleachers, throwing her hair into a messy high ponytail as she did so.

Kaze had been brought out of his inner analysis of Ash's battle when Hazel gave him Peach, and was now watching his girlfriend. He had been given an image of an elderly couple he recognized as Hazel and himself when she had referred to them as Peach's grandparents. He chuckled. He and Hazel both knew it would be that way eventually, but now wasn't the time to worry about it. Kaze watched the slight swaying of Hazel's hips as she walked down to the field, and he willingly let his eyes drift upward to her neck as it was revealed by her swishing ponytail. Then…"Ow!"

Noticing Kaze's mind was drifting into dangerous territory for while in public, Espeon sighed and, claws extended, lightly swatted her trainer's mate on the hand. "Espe espe espeon espe! (Get your mind out of mating and into battling!)" She knew Kaze sometimes had trouble understanding her, but also knew he would get the gist. Seeing that the grey-haired young man was rubbing his hurt hand and pouting, albeit with a small blush on his face, Espeon rolled her eyes and said, "Espeon espe esp esp! Esp es espeon! (Don't be a baby! Just watch the battle!)" Kaze grunted and faced forward, while at the same time making sure Peach was secure. Pikachu hid his snickering.

Noticing that the referee was about to start the match, Kaze called out, "Remember your strategy, Hazel!" His only response was a hand raised in acknowledgement, which he took to mean, 'Maybe, but not likely.' Kaze sighed and shook his head. He doubted he would ever get his girlfriend to use anything other than pure power.

WWMA

"This Gym Battle between Hazel, the challenger, and Maylene, the Gym Leader, is about to begin! This will be a three-on-three battle, and only the challenger is allowed to substitute!" exclaimed the referee. "Begin!"

"Go! Meditite!" called out Maylene, this time opting to use her dual Fighting/Psychic-Type first. The floating Pokemon settled itself into its usual cross-legged stance, ready to battle.

Hazel's hands ghosted over her Pokeballs before stopping on one. She brought the Pokeball to her chest, her eyes closed, before they opened and, while throwing the Pokeball, she exclaimed, "Let's do our best! Blaziken!" The final evolutionary form of Hoenn's Fire starter appeared on the field, her wrist flames proving she was ready to give it her all. Going for the first move, Hazel shouted, "Blaziken! Go for a Blaze Kick!" Blaziken leapt into the air and, her right leg flaming, came down toward Meditite.

"Meditite! Detect and then Meditate!" came Maylene's counter-order. Thanks to Detect, Meditite moved a split second before Blaze Kick would've hit, then went on to raise its Attack with Meditate.

Biting her lip, Hazel quickly tried to think of what to do, then, going for something that surprised everyone that knew her battling style - including herself - said, "Blaziken! Mirror Move! Then another Blaze Kick! At high speed!" Mirror Move allowed Blaziken to use Meditate, raising her own Attack, then, going faster than before, delivered a powerful Blaze Kick to Meditite's side.

The force of the powered-up move caused Meditite to lose its balance, but before Hazel could order a new attack, Maylene called out, "Meditite, use Drain Punch!" Hazel's eyes widened, but she could tell there was no time to dodge. Instead, she called for another move.

"Quick! Use Cut as a defense!" Although still taking damage from the Drain Punch, Blaziken was still able to deal some damage with Cut. When the two Pokemon broke apart, it was obvious that although both were hurt, Blaziken was feeling the strain more. Throwing caution to the wind, Hazel growled and called out, "Double Kick! Then Blaze Kick back to back! If we're going down, we're taking Meditite with us!"

"Detect, Meditite!" Meditite dodged the first half of Blaziken's Double Kick, but was hit by the seond kick as well as many of Blaziken's Blaze Kicks. Narrowing her eyes, Maylene called, "Confusion!"

"Dodge! And the Cut!" came Hazel's command. Blaziken narrowly dodged the purple energy, and then swiped her arm across Meditite. Meditite fell to the ground and stayed down, fainted.

"Meditite is unable to battle! That means the winner is Blaziken!" announced the referee.

As Maylene returned her Pokemon, Hazel did the same. "You were great," she said, "But I might need you later, so take a good rest." Hazel put the Pokeball back on her belt and grabbed a new one. Repeating the same ritual she did with Blaziken, she then threw the Pokeball and said, "I have an idea of who she's using next, so let's do our best! Pikachu!" Hazel's Pikachu, with a black ribbon tied around her neck in a bow, appeared and calmly awaited battle, her cheeks sparking now and then.

Maylene threw her own Pokeball, calling out, "Let's go Machoke!" The large Fighting-Type appeared, dwarfing the yellow mouse in size. Pikachu was unphased by this, knowing that size didn't always matter in battle. Going for the first move, Maylene called, "Start off with Leer!" Machoke glared at Pikachu, lowering her Defense. Pikachu blinked and took a step back, affected by the Leer.

"Get close and try for an Iron Tail!" Hazel called out, hoping Pikachu was fast enough to get the hit in. In a flash Pikachu was running across the field, her tail glowing. Once close enough she jumped and aimed her tail at Machoke's head.

"Machoke! Grab Pikachu and then use Seismic Toss!" Maylene called out. Both Pikachu's and Hazel's eyes widened as they heard the order, and Pikachu cried out as she was grabbed out of the air, her tail losing its glow.

As Machoke jumped in the air, Hazel called out, "Pikachu! Hold on tight and use Thunderbolt!" Her cheeks sparking, Pikachu held on tight as the Seismic Toss continued and let off a Thunderbolt, dealing some damage to the Fighting-Type. The attack got cut off as she was thrown to the ground.

As Pikachu was getting up, Maylene called out, "Machoke! Use Brick Break!" Hazel's eyes widened.

"Pikachu, you need to hurry and get up! Use Rock Smash! And try to dodge that Brick Break!" Her eyes hard with determination, Pikachu got all the way up and dodged at the last second, only getting clipped by the Brick Break. Her own paw glowing, she then used Rock Smash, landing a solid hit on Machoke. "Good!" said Hazel. "Now Iron Tail!" This time the glowing tail managed to hit the large Fighting-Type, who was still recovering from the previous move. Seeing Pikachu was about done, Hazel called, "Use Thunderbolt and take Machoke with you!" Following orders, the exhausted mouse let off a powerful Thunderbolt before fainting, Machoke following suit.

"Both Pokemon are unable to battle!" was the referee's verdict. Maylene and Hazel returned their Pokemon, congratulating them on a battle hard-fought. Both girls then pulled out their next Pokeballs.

"Let's go, Lucario!" called out Maylene, and the blue feline appeared, determined to win.

"Let's do our best! Ninetales!" exclaimed Hazel, and the majestic fox came out, tails waving. Maylene again took the first move.

"Lucario! Aura Sphere!" she called out, not missing a beat.

"Use Dig!" Hazel countered. Ninetales quickly dug a hole, the last of her tails disappearing just as the Aura Sphere passed where she was seconds before.

Remembering Ash's Chimchar had used Dig as well, Maylene called out to Lucario, "Use your Aura to sense where Ninetales is, then use Aura Sphere!" Lucario nodded and closed his eyes, searching for Ninetales's Aura. A few seconds later, he started forming an Aura Sphere in his palm.

Seeing this, Hazel yelled, "Now!" Ninetales burst out of the ground right behind Lucario, the force making him slightly off-balance. "Quick Attack, then get away!" Hazel continued. Ninetales quickened her descent from the air using Quick Attack, landing on Lucario's head, then bounded away out of his immediate range. Hazel giggled at her Pokemon's antics before growing serious again.

"Use Bone Rush!" ordered Maylene. Lucario sped toward Ninetales, his speed seeming to surpass hers.

Her eyes widening, Hazel called out, "Get away! Use Quick Attack to do it!" Ninetales complied, disappearing and reappearing all over the field and Lucario following. The tactic seemed to work at first, but Lucario soon caught up and was able to hit Ninetales. Her tails in disarray, Ninetales stood and shook the dirt out of her cream-colored fur.

"Metal Claw, Lucario!" called out Maylene.

"Fire Blast!" countered Hazel. As Lucario sped forward with glowing claws, Ninetales opened her mouth and let off a large, five-pronged plume of fire. The force of the collision caused smoke to erupt, and then Ninetales was hit by an Aura Sphere that appeared suddenly out of the smoke. The Aura Sphere was followed by Lucario.

"Force Palm!" came Maylene's order. Lucario moved faster than before and landed the hit on Ninetales, knocking her to the ground.

"Ninetales!" called Hazel, biting her lip. She closed her eyes, and then yelled out, "Okay! Use Overheat!" Hazel only hoped Force Palm's Paralysis wouldn't keep Ninetales from using the move. Ninetales let out another blast of fire, this one causing her body to glow red. Not expecting it, the flame enveloped Lucario, causing a lot of damage. Lucario fell to one knee, but the more exhausted Ninetales fainted first.

"Ninetales is unable to battle! The winner is Lucario!" called out the announcer. Hazel recalled her fainted Pokemon.

"You did good, Ninetales." She pulled out Blaziken's Pokeball again. "We almost have this, Blaziken! Let's win it!" Although Blaziken was still tired from her earlier battle, the rest had done her good and she was ready to battle again. "Double Kick!" called out Hazel.

"Bone Rush to defend!" Maylene countered. Lucario blocked the Double Kick then swiped at Blaziken, who jumped out of the way. "Metal Claw!" was Maylene's new order.

"Blaze Kick!" yelled Hazel. "Back to back!" she added. Blaziken managed to dodge the Metal Claw narrowly, then started hitting Lucario with back to back Blaze Kicks. Eventually, though, the Fire/Fighting-Type slowed down her attacks due to exhaustion. Maylene took this chance to order an Aura Sphere. "Cut!" was the counter. The collision resulted in an explosion of smoke. Once the smoke cleared, the battle had become a battle of wills. The victor would be the one who could stay conscious longer. Blaziken fell to one knee, but Lucario beat her to the ground.

"Lucario is unable to battle! The winner is Blaziken! The victor is Hazel, the challenger!" With a blank look on her face, Hazel's legs gave out on her and she fell to her knees. Absentmindedly, she returned Blaziken and congratulated her.

WWMA

Making his way down the bleachers, Kaze could pretty much guess what was going through his girlfriend's mind.

"What's wrong with her?" Dawn asked, echoing the thoughts of Ash, Brock, Misty, Reggie, and Maylene.

"Hm? Oh, she's just surprised she won, that's all," Kaze answered, before kneeling down next to Hazel. He smiled at the state of her ponytail. Chocolate-colored hair was covering her dazed eyes, and the tie itself was slipping. He brought her out of her thoughts by lightly kissing her forehead. She blinked and turned to him, then a smile appeared on her face.

"Kaze!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around his neck. "I won! I actually won!" Kaze chuckled and put his arms around Hazel. Hazel blinked, then pulled back to glare at Kaze. "Where's Peach?" she asked, her voice promising pain if she didn't like the answer.

"Over here, with me," answered Reggie. Hazel turned to Reggie and saw that the baby Pichu was quite content in the purple-haired breeder's arms. She nodded.

"Okay, then," she said. Maylene stepped forward.

"We should let our Pokemon rest and heal," she said, and Hazel nodded her agreement. The large group then left to heal the Pokemon that needed healing.

WWMA

A lone Purugly could be seen walking into the forest. If one looked closely, it could be seen that the Purugly was wearing a collar. One that seemed to be flashing a small red light at regular intervals…

* * *

**A/N: **And there's Chapter 10! We're in the double digits now! Once, again, I apologize for this being so late. It really wasn't my intention to miss a week. Anyway, please review! I love to read your opinions!

With love, GabsGen


	12. Chap 11: Teasing Moms and Planetary News

**A/N: **And here's Chapter Eleven, as promised! I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen never has, nor will she ever, own Pokemon.

* * *

Chapter Eleven

Hazel's Pikachu, who was sometimes known as Pika, shook herself after appearing from her Pokeball. The Pokemon had been healed, and the group minus Maylene had retreated to Reggie's house. The pink-haired Gym Leader said she planned on training some more, but promised to be back later because Lucario wanted to talk some more with Ash. The female Pikachu braced herself for the hurricane that was her daughter.

"Mama!" came an excited voice right on cue. Peach the Pichu threw herself at her beribboned mother, followed by Espeon and Ash's Pikachu. Ninetales, who was watching, giggled at her niece's antics. "Mama! You were great! I want to learn to battle like you!" This gave the older Pokemon pause.

"When you get older, and stronger, we'll see." Peach's mother finally said. "You must understand that battling is not all fun and games. One could get seriously hurt. I happen to personally know a certain Pikachu who has landed himself in the Pokemon Center Emergency Room many times before."

"Hey! I take offense to that!" exclaimed Ash's Pikachu, knowing it was him that Pika was referring to. Pika turned her doe eyes on him. Her voice was calm.

"I don't know why you do, when you know it's true." At this, Espeon and Ninetales started laughing as a slight blush overcame Pikachu's face.

"She's got you there, Pikachu!" exclaimed Ninetales, her laughter subsiding as she settled on the floor. Peach came to her and started playing with her tails. Pika sighed and fell to her back, staring at the ceiling. Espeon and Pikachu came over and looked down at her.

"What's wrong, Pika?" they asked in unison, staring down at their friend.

"Being a mother is so tiring…" Pika said, then smiled. "But I wouldn't trade it for anything. Peach may be a pawful, but I still love her. I think it may be impossible to not love her." Espeon glanced at Pikachu, then smirked.

"Tell us more about being a parent, Pika," Espeon said. "I think Pikachu will need it soon." Pikachu blushed.

"Why do you say that?" asked Pika, turning inquisitive eyes on the two Pokemon above her. Ninetales stopped playing with Peach to listen. Pouting at being ignored, Peach went to go play with Blaziken and Azurill, who were sitting with Hazel and the other trainers. Espeon's smirk grew.

"Our buddy Pikachu here has a crush on Coordinator-girl's Buneary. I haven't met her yet, but she has to be cute to win over the densest Pikachu ever." The Pikachu is question looked away, blushing, as Pika sat up and exchanged looks with Ninetales. Twin smirks grew on the faces of the fox and mouse before they turned to Pikachu.

"Tell us about her," they chorused, getting close to his face. Pikachu gulped and, instead of answering, turned tail and scampered off, Espeon, Pika, and Ninetales not far behind. He knew it was useless to run and that they would catch him eventually, but he could still try, right?

WWMA

Cyrus didn't turn around as the door to his office opened. He simply said, "You better have news for me, Saturn, if you are here." Saturn nodded, even though he knew Cyrus wasn't looking at him.

"I do, sir," he said. "And I believe you will be pleased to learn that if we play our cards right, we can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak." Hearing this, Cyrus turned his chair around so that he was facing the blue-haired Commander.

"Oh?" he asked, folding his hands on top of his desk. Saturn pulled out a memory card and held it up so that his boss could see it.

"Mars and her Purugly found him in Veilstone City. Acting as a stray, Purugly trailed Ketchum and his friends from what can be assumed to be soon after their arrival to the end of him and a childhood friend battling the Gym Leader. As a result, much was learned about him." Saturn placed the memory card on the desk, then stepped back a pace.

Nodding thoughtfully, Cyrus said, "And the meteorites we want are in Veilstone as well. Good job Saturn." He turned his chair back around, indicating that Saturn was dismissed. Saturn bowed and left, planning ways to add Ash Ketchum into the equation for the Veilstone mission. He was positive he could pull it off. If he couldn't, Cyrus would most likely be furious. Not that the man would show it, but still, no one liked an angry Cyrus.

* * *

**A/N:** And there's Chapter Eleven! Short, but this is the way it wrote itself. I tend to let my chapters stop where they want to, most of the time. Anyway, please review and tell me what you liked, didn't like, etc.! I love to read what you think about my story!

With love, GabsGen


	13. Chap 12: Confessions

**A/N: **Here's Chapter Twelve! It's a fluffy little thing - I hope you like it!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Pokemon. My boyfriend is more knowledgeable than I am XD

* * *

Chapter Twelve

Huffing, Ninetales sat on her haunches. "I'm tired of chasing Pikachu," she said. "Let's just talk to Buneary ourselves. It'll be much easier than chasing this dense idiot all over the house." Espeon and Pika nodded, and Espeon headed over to where the trainers were sitting.

"Yes?" Hazel asked when her purple Pokemon stopped in front of her.

"Esp, Esp espe Espeonesp espe espe. Es espe On espe esp? (Well, Pikachu told us a lot about Buneary and we wanna meet her. Can you get Miss Dawn to let her out please?)" After making sure she was understanding right, Hazel turned to Dawn and asked if she would let her Normal-Type out to play. Dawn complied and a few seconds later, the rabbit and feline were greeting each other. "Es es espe esp! (You're coming with me!)" Espeon said, recruiting Pika to help drag Buneary over to their area.

"What's going on?" Buneary asked once they reached Ninetales. Ninetales, Espeon, and Pika shared smirks before they turned to the confused bunny.

"Well, I'm Ninetales, this is Pika, and this is Espeon," the majestic fox said, taking it upon herself to do the introductions. After straightening her ribbon, Pika took her turn.

"And _we're _going to help _you _confess to our dear buddy Pikachu, who is currently hiding somewhere in this house." Buneary blushed and pulled up her fur to cover her face.

"Oh, I couldn't!" she exclaimed. "Besides, he doesn't feel the same way anyhow!" Espeon smirked and came up to the younger female.

"That's where you're wrong, sweetie," Espeon said. When Buneary looked at her in disbelief, she continued, "It's true! I got Pikachu to confess to me that he likes you!" At this, Buneary blushed redder than earlier, and her eyes began to light up.

"Oh, really? You mean it? He really said that?" Buneary questioned. At the nods of the other three, she squealed and began to bounce, her blush still noticeable. All of a sudden, she calmed down and sunk to the floor. "But," she started, resisting the urge to cover her face, "I don't have the courage to tell him…I'm not that brave…" She trailed off and looked up when one of the Pokemon scoffed.

"Who needs courage when you're as cute as you are?" asked Pika, her eyes slightly narrowed. "Of course," she continued, "Looks aren't everything when it comes to Pikachu. He likes brains, even if he himself doesn't know it, and he gets flustered easily when it comes to things like this."

"Which means don't come on too strong," Ninetales cut in. "He'll just get uncomfortable and try to run off." Buneary nodded, taking it all in.

"What do you suggest I do, then?" Buneary asked. Espeon spoke up.

"Ask to talk to him alone. Don't come on too strong, and listen to what he has to say. And _don't _be a fan girl," she said, the last part being said with a firmer tone of voice. "He's complained to me before about fan girls. So, think you're ready after our little pep talk?" Eseon smiled, her eyes warm. Buneary had a slight blush, but smiled back and nodded.

WWMA

"Pikachu?" asked a small voice. Pikachu's ears twitched. He knew that voice. He sighed. He had been sulking because his pseudo-sister and her teammates had insisted on teasing him about the owner of the voice behind him, and then had chased him about Reggie's house. He had sought refuge in an upstairs bedroom, but now it looked like he would have to face _her_. He sat up and turned around.

"Buneary. How are you?" He tilted his head when he noticed that Buneary seemed calmer than usual.

"I'm fine," she said. "And you?" She lifted her eyes from the ground to look at Pikachu's face.

"As well as I can be, with my sister teasing me." At Buneary's questioning look, he added, "Espeon. She's like my sister, so that's what I call her." Buneary nodded in understanding. "Buneary?" he asked. "Is something wrong?" Buneary shook her head.

"Nothing's _wrong_," she said. "I just wanted to ask if I could talk to you alone." She looked away, a blush covering her cheeks. Pikachu blinked.

"Sure," he said. "We're the only ones here, so go ahead."

Taking a deep breath, Buneary locked eyes with the yellow mouse in front of her, and said, "I-I like you a lot, Pikachu!" Her face flooded red and she snapped her eyes closed, resisting the urge to hide behind her fur. She held her breath, waiting for Pikachu's answer.

At Buneary's exclaimed confession, Pikachu's eyes widened and he felt his cheeks heat up. His thoughts, and heart, started racing. He had of course known the girl Pokemon had a crush on him, but he had never expected an actual confession. What was one supposed to do at a time like this? Seeing Buneary was still waiting for his answer, he decided to go with the truth. He took a deep breath and stepped closer to the bunny.

"Buneary," he started, causing her eyes to crack open, "I…I like you, too…" He chuckled. "I'm sorry, I'm hopeless with things like this…but I really like you too, Buneary." Buneary opened her eyes all the way and locked them with Pikachu's.

"Really?" she asked. Pikachu smiled at the hope in her eyes. He leaned forward and placed a light kiss on her forehead before resting his forehead against hers.

"Really," he smiled, and suddenly his arms were full of warm yellow and brown fur. Pikachu smiled and wrapped his arms around Buneary, content.

* * *

**A/N: **And there it is! Told you it was fluffy! And now, people, just because I'm not always asking for reviews doesn't mean I don't want them! They inspire me! So if you have anything at all you want to say about the chapter or the story as a whole, please review!

With love,

GabsGen


	14. Chap 13: Confrontations

**A/N: **Hello! I'm back for the next chapter! And earlier than usual, too! I hope you enjoy it! And please tell me what you think! And thank you to all my reviewers, and everyone who has put this story on their favorites and/or alerts list! I need to remember to say that more…

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen doesn't own Pokemon and she never will. I don't even own Kaze-he's my boyfriend's!

* * *

Chapter Thirteen

Hazel was tired of waiting. She snuck a glance at Kaze. He was as well, she saw. Their eyes met, and they exchanged barely-there nods. Hazel put her tea on the coffee table before her and abruptly stood, causing some eyes to go to her before returning to their own conversations. Turning to the redhead of the group, Hazel brightly said, "Hey, Misty. Can I talk to you, girl-to-girl?" Misty blinked a few times in bewilderment, before nodding and following, trusting Hazel's Blaziken to watch Azurill. As the two girls were ascending the stairs, they passed a blushing Pikachu and Buneary. As soon as the two Pokemon were out of earshot, Hazel and Misty let out the twin "Awwws" they had been holding in. They looked at each other and giggled before continuing to the second floor.

Once they were in an empty room and Misty was settled in a comfortable chair, Misty asked, "So, Hazel, what did you want to talk about?" Hazel crossed her arms and legs and leaned back against the door. She raised her eyebrow at her companion.

"I think we both know the answer to that, Misty-dear," she said. Misty got a slightly guarded look in her eyes, but said nothing. Hazel rolled her eyes and said, "We need to talk about Ash. I barely know you, and I can still see you got it bad."

Narrowing her eyes, Misty asked, "Why do we need to talk about him? Are you being possessive or something?" At this, Hazel started laughing.

"Me? Possessive of Ash? Please. I have Kaze, so why would I need to go after Ash? Besides, he's older, so I really have no right to be possessive." Calming down, Hazel smirked and said, "No, we need to talk about how you're going to confess to him." A blush overtook Misty's face.

"W-what? No! I already know he doesn't feel the same, so why bother saying anything just to have my heart broken?" Misty crossed her arms and resolutely looked away from Hazel. Hazel sighed and pushed off from the door, coming to stand in front of Misty.

"You obviously don't know what Ash does in his free time if you think that," she said. Misty looked up at Hazel, a question in her eyes. Taking this as her cue to continue, Hazel went on, "Whenever we're in Pallet at the same time - which is very rare by the way - or when he calls Kaze and I, he goes on and on about you. More so when he was actually traveling with you, but he still talks about you plenty. It didn't take Kaze and I long to figure out his feelings. He's crazy about you."

Her eyes wide, Misty asked, "Are you sure? Absolutely sure? You've confronted him about it?" Hazel shook her head.

"I haven't confronted Ash, but Kaze has," she said. Misty's face, which had at first fallen, brightened again. "In fact," Hazel continued, "Kaze is talking to Ash right now." Misty abruptly stood.

"About what?" she asked, stepping closer to Hazel.

Nonchalantly inspecting her nails, Hazel replied, "The same thing we are now. What else?" Hazel's eyes met Misty's. "But that's not the point. My job is to get you to confess to Ash, nothing else." Misty crossed her arms.

"And if I don't want to confess?" she asked.

Shrugging, Hazel answered, "Then you miss out on a pretty decent guy. Kaze and I are getting tired of the sexual tension between you two, and we wanna help. You two have been holding this in for too long. You need to let it out or it's gonna destroy you." Misty tilted her head to the side, a thoughtful look on her face.

"How do you know all that?" she asked, prompting Hazel to smile sadly.

"That's a story for another time," Hazel said. She tucked some hair behind her ear and continued, "The real question is whether or not you'll confess before you get to that point."

WWMA

As soon as Hazel and Misty disappeared through the door, Kaze grabbed Ash's arm and dragged him through the front door and down the porch steps. He let go of Ash and crossed his arms once they were in the front yard.

"Okay, Kaze, what's going on?" Ash asked, glaring at his friend.

"You're going to confess to Misty," Kaze answered, getting right to the point. Ash blushed and took a step back.

"And if I don't want to?" he asked defiantly. "Besides, she doesn't like me. She _can't _like me; we're always fighting." He looked away, glaring at nothing in particular. Kaze sighed and let his arms drop to his sides before putting his hands in his pockets.

"That's just how some couples are," he said.

Rolling his eyes, Ash replied, "I don't see you and Hazel fighting about every little thing."

Kaze raised his eyebrows. "You seem to forget that she was always hitting me when we were younger." Kaze managed to hold a serious face for a second before he started laughing, Ash following suit. "Seriously, though," Kaze said once he calmed down, "You need to confess. Misty's crazy about you. I mean, I know you're dense buddy, but how have you missed it all these years?" Even though he was being completely serious, Kaze added a smirk. He was going to go crazy with all of the tension that, according to Brock, had been building for years. Ash blushed slightly and looked anywhere but at his childhood friend.

"Well, I've been focused on becoming a Pokemon Master! I don't exactly have time for stuff like that!" Ash exclaimed, going for the defensive approach. Kaze rolled his eyes.

"Well, you're gonna make time," Kaze started, "Because Hazel is talking to Misty as we speak."

Ash's eyes widened and he exclaimed, "What? Are you two crazy? Wait, don't answer that," he added before Kaze could open his mouth. "We both know you and Hazel are crazy." Kaze put a childish smile on his face.

"Because crazy is fun~" he said in a singsong voice, before becoming serious again. "And I'm not playing around, Ash Ketchum. You are confessing your feelings to that girl, even if I have to send my Pokemon after you." Kaze narrowed his eyes at his friend at this last part. Ash gulped and took a step back. He knew his friend wouldn't joke about something like this, not after what he went through with Hazel.

"Okay, okay," he said sheepishly, his hands held up with his palms facing outwards in the universal sign for 'I surrender'. "But for the record, I still think this is a bad idea." Kaze rolled his eyes and chuckled. His friend had never been all that confident when it came to romance. Battles, he could handle, but romance and girls were a whole other story.

"You may think it's a bad idea, Ash," Kaze started, "But Hazel and I think it's a good idea, so you're outvoted." Kaze smiled at Ash's pouty look. "Besides," he continued, gaining Ash's attention, "It's not hard to see that you two are crazy about each other. And," Kaze broke off. He closed his eyes to compose himself, but not before Ash saw a small flicker of pain in them. "And you don't know how many chances you'll have before she's taken away from you, possibly forever." At these words, Ash's mind went back in time, to two little boys, one with black hair, the other with grey, and a little girl with brown hair…

_They were five, and the girl had fallen to her knees and was coughing into her hands, her face unnaturally pale and blood seeping through her fingers. The black-haired boy ran back to town as fast as he could, his grey-haired friend's yells to get help echoing in his head…why were they so far from town? They knew she was sickly and could get worse at any time…_

_They were eight, and the two boys were with Mrs. Lee on the way to Viridian to visit the young girl in the hospital after she once again ate too many berries and gave herself food poisoning…sometimes the two wondered if she did it on purpose or if she really did like berries that much…_

_They were twelve, and the two boys were watching the girl leave for a date with her first boyfriend…the grey-haired boy laughed darkly and said, "I've lost her, haven't I, Ash? I lost my chance…"_

_They were thirteen, and the girl was crying in the black-haired boy's lap, the grey-haired one absent…the break-up had been months ago, but now…"I'm so stupid, Ash! It was Kaze all along…what do I do? I don't know what to do! I don't want to lose him too!" _

"Ash?" Kaze's voice broke Ash out of his memories and he looked at his friend, the grey hair and grey eyes the same as they were all those years ago.

Ash smiled at Kaze and said, "You know what, Kaze? You're right. I won't lose Misty like you almost lost Hazel." Kaze looked surprised for a second before he smiled and nodded. The door opened behind the two teenage boys. They turned and chocolate met sea green. Kaze left them and gave his own brown-eyed partner a kiss before they went inside, Hazel looking over her shoulder and hoping everything would go right.

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**A/N: **Okay…got a little angsty at the end, didn't it? Maybe I should make a one-shot or something out of the flashback, give you the full stories. What do you think? Please tell me your answer! I hope you liked the chapter, and please review!

With love,

GabsGen


	15. Chap 14: Confessions  Take Two

**A/N: **Here's Chapter Fourteen, peoples! Oh, and I made the flashback from last chapter into its own one-shot. It's called _They Were…_ and I would really appreciate it if you would read it and tell me what you think! And thank you to all who reviewed! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen doesn't own Pokemon. You should be glad she doesn't.

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Chapter Fourteen

Brock, Dawn, and Reggie looked curiously at Hazel and Kaze as the two walked back into the living room. They noticed that Ash and Misty were nowhere in sight. "Where are Ash and Misty?" Dawn asked the question on the three people's minds.

Smirking, Kaze answered, "Confessing their love to each other in the front yard."

"What!" yelled Brock. "I've been waiting years for this!" The Kanto native ran to the window and slid it open just enough to hear what was being said. Kaze chuckled and sat in an armchair by the window, pulling a for some reason dazed Hazel onto his lap.

Noticing Hazel's dazed look, Dawn asked, "Is she okay? What's wrong with her?" She seemed truly worried about her new friend. Kaze smirked.

"Oh, she's fine," he said. "She just got kissed senseless before we came in from the hallway." This broke Hazel out of her daze and she blushed furiously before slapping Kaze upside the head.

"Quiet!" she hissed. "Dawn didn't need to know that! And neither did Brock or Reggie!" Hazel looked apprehensively at the three people with them. Dawn had blushed at Kaze's description of his and Hazel's activities, Reggie had raised an eyebrow, and Brock was too busy spying on Ash and Misty to notice the conversation going on behind him. Hazel sighed and leaned back, covering her face with her hands.

Speaking of Ash and Misty…

WWMA

Even when the door had closed behind Hazel and Kaze, Ash and Misty continued to stare at each other. Finally, Misty broke the silence. "Ash…I-uh…" she stammered, looking away as her face turned red. Ash waited patiently, much unlike his usual self. "I…I didn't follow you just because of my bike," Misty whispered, refusing to look at the raven-haired young man in front of her. "There was another reason." She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, preparing to say more, when Ash surprised her.

"I know," Ash said, and Misty opened her eyes to see that Ash had moved closer without her notice. "I know," he repeated, preferring to look at their feet rather than Misty's eyes. He knew that if he did look at them, he would be sucked into their sea-green depths. "You were always there for me," Ash continued, "Even when you had to go home to run the Gym, you were there. First through the handkerchief, then through MiniMisty." Ash paused, then put his hand in his pocket. When he brought his hand back out, he was holding two things: a pink and yellow handkerchief, and a fishing lure in the likeness of the redhead in front of him. Ash finally looked up at Misty, whose eyes looked wet, his own eyes warm and with a smile on his face. Holding up the lure, he said, "Whenever I started to get depressed or lose my drive, I looked at MiniMisty and imagined you giving me one of your pep talks. Your yells always got me moving. Still do, actually." He smiled and tilted his head slightly to the side. Misty took this as her cue to take her turn.

"You always…intrigued me," she said. "I mean, I fish you and Pikachu out of a river, then you steal my bike and take off with a bunch of Spearow right behind you? I had to know more. So I made up a lame excuse about wanting you to repay me for my bike and tagged along. The rest is history." She blushed slightly and looked away. "I watch all your televised battles, cheering you on like I always used to," she said, deciding to not let Ash know about the large picture of him hanging on the Gym's wall. "I…I think I might love you, Ash," she said, closing her eyes as her blush intensified. Her eyes opened when she felt Ash lightly trace her cheek with the tips of his fingers. Ash smiled warmly as he blushed as well.

"I think I might feel the same, Mist," he said, bringing his face closer to Misty's, causing her breath to hitch.

"This isn't like you, Ash," Misty breathed. Ash closed his eyes and chuckled softly before answering.

"I know," he said. "I just figured…" He closed his eyes and sighed before opening his eyes again. "The thing is, Hazel and Kaze almost lost each other, and I don't want that to happen to us. My best chance was to be honest, not be in denial. I've learned that much from my friends." He smiled as Misty nodded in understanding. He leaned forward, lifting his hands.

Misty placed her hands on Ash's shoulders as his own cradled her face, and let her eyes flutter closed as he started to pull her closer. She could feel his breath mingling with hers now; just a little bit closer…

WWMA

A loud cheer from the direction of the window startled everyone in the living room, and caused Hazel to jump back from the bookshelf and nearly trip over her boots. Whipping around with a glare on her face and a hand on her heart, she demanded, "Holy Ho-Oh! What was that for, Brock!" 'At least Brock looks sorry,' she thought. Dawn looked like she didn't know what to do, Kaze was trying not to laugh, and Reggie was asking if she was alright. "I'm fine, Reggie," she sighed. "Sorry for yelling." She sighed again and plopped down on the arm of Kaze's chair. "You still haven't answered my question, though, Brock," she added, crossing her arms and legs. Brock's face brightened.

"Oh, yeah! Ash and Misty finally confessed after six years!" he exclaimed. "In fact," he glanced out the window, "They're still kissing." Hazel and Kaze smirked and, without looking at the other, gave each other a high-five. "You know what this means?" Brock asked. At everyone's blank looks, he exclaimed, "Teasing!" Kaze grinned wickedly and stated scheming with Brock, the two of them drowning out Reggie's admonitions to be nice. Hazel rolled her eyes and, after sharing a look with Dawn, stood and went back to looking at the books as Dawn went to check on the Pokemon.

WWMA

A small creature with a long tail and light pink fur was flying over the ocean. Mew, which was this certain Pokemon's name, had her orders. Orders that came straight from Arceus. Mew was to go to Shamouti Island and warn Lugia of the coming danger. Lugia would, in turn, warn the Chosen One. The Beast of the Sea was debatably the one most attuned to the Chosen One, and as such the one most suited to find and warn him. Mew put on a burst of speed, hoping she wasn't too late to help the black-haired boy she remembered from New Island.

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**A/N: **The Legendaries finally make an appearance! Or at least, one appearance and two mentions. Three if you count Hazel's "Holy Ho-Oh!" line. I just couldn't resist using it when it popped in my mind X) This chapter was so hard to write for some reason, so sorry if it kinda feels weird. I think it was Ash and Misty that did it…anyway, please tell me what you think! Till next week!

With love,

GabsGen


	16. Chap 15: Unknown Danger is Approaching

**A/N: **Went to the Del Mar Fair last Friday! I got to see BTR, and the rabid fan girls were scary, lol. …When did they change the name to the San Diego County Fair? I've always called it the Del Mar Fair…oh, well! Enjoy the chapter! And thanks to all my reviewers! I love reading what you think about my story!

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen doesn't own Pokemon. Or the fair.

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Chapter Fifteen

"What?" Lugia asked. The blue and silver bird-like dragon stared at the floating, pink-furred, cat-like creature before him. "Repeat that again, Mew," Lugia went on.

Wringing her paws as if they were human hands, Mew replied, "Arceus ordered me to come and warn you about the new danger. He isn't exactly sure what it is, but he does know it puts the Chosen One, Ash, in danger along with us Legendaries. Arceus wants you to find Ash and warn him, and stay close if you can. He'll need protection, even if he has started to learn of his power over Aura…" At this, Lugia sent a sharp look at Mew.

"The Chosen One knows of Aura?" he asked. He knew that, along with being one of the first Legendaries, Mew's species typically guarded the secrets of the Aura Guardians. "Which Stronghold was he proven worthy at?" Lugia asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. Mew began to fidget as she answered.

"The Tree of Beginning near Cameran Palace in Kanto," Mew said. "The Guardian reported to me that although Ash had next to no knowledge of Aura, he was determined to help the Tree, which was beginning to shut down. And that's not all." Mew's large sky-blue eyes met Lugia's sharp black eyes. "The Guardian also reported that Ash has the same Aura as the Aura Guardian Sir Aaron." Mew watched as Lugia's eyes widened in disbelief.

"How is that possible?" The Beast of the Sea asked.

"There are few ways for one individual to have the Aura of another," Mew said, looking away. She knew they had gone off topic, but she also knew Lugia wouldn't follow orders unless he got his answers. "One way is if Ash was a direct descendent of Sir Aaron," Mew went on, "And another is if Ash is the reincarnation of Sir Aaron. Those are the only two explanations for this situation."

"Unless Celebi got involved," Lugia interjected. Mew shot a glare at the much bigger Pokemon.

"Celebi wouldn't do that," Mew growled, much unlike her usual happy-go-lucky self. "Not after Arceus drilled it into his head that interfering with time like that is off-limit's the last time he did it." This was followed by silence.

"Very well, then," Lugia said after a minute or so. "Which explanation do you think is correct when it comes to the Chosen One?" he asked. Mew turned her face away, but looked at Lugia out of the corner of her eye.

"I'm not completely sure," she started, "But I'm sure that if you went to him, you could probably figure it out." Lugia blinked, then threw his head back and laughed.

"Very sly, Mew!" he exclaimed, still laughing, "Very sly! But," and here the laughter ceased, "It is very unlike you, Mew. Why are you so concerned about the Chosen One?" Mew heaved a mighty sigh and looked at Lugia with sadness in her blue eyes.

"Ho-Oh may have been the first of us Ash saw, but Mewtwo and myself are the first ones he actually met," Mew said. "Even if he doesn't remember it," she added with regret in her voice. "He was ten then. He's sixteen now and I still can't help but worry about him. From what I understand, the other Legendaries who have met him feel the same. Even you worry, Lugia. Don't deny the truth." After a moment, Lugia sighed and nodded.

"Very well," he said, "I will go to the Chosen One and warn him of the coming danger, even if we know not what the danger is. Zapdos, Moltres, and Articuno are on migration, so there shouldn't be any fights to quell and I should be able to keep watch over the Chosen One." He spread his wings, but before taking off said, "Seriousness does not suit you, Mew. I understand you are worried, but don't allow that worry to conceal your true self." With this said, the Beast of the Sea took off and sped towards the Sinnoh region.

Mew watched until Lugia had disappeared from sight, then sighed and prepared to return to Arceus in the Hall of Origin. Arceus would probably have more orders for her.

WWMA

"Lucario?" asked Maylene. "Where are you going?" Lucario turned from the door to look at the pink-haired woman.

"_I must speak with Ash," _he said. Then, without waiting for an answer, he sped off to Reggie's house, where he could sense Ash's Aura.

WWMA

"Ah, come on you guys!" Ash exclaimed. "Stop it!" Brock and Kaze had started in on the teasing when he had entered with his arm around Misty, and they had yet to let up.

"Never!" the aforementioned teasers exclaimed. Ash groaned and buried his face in his hands while Misty simply blushed slightly and went back to playing with baby Azurill. Before Kaze and Brock could continue their teasing, they all heard the front door open. Everyone watched as Lucario appeared in the room from the hallway.

"_I must speak with Ash," _he said. _"Alone," _he added when no one made to move. When Ash finally stood, Lucario turned and went back through the door into the front yard. Ash broke the silence.

"What did you want to talk about, Lucario?" he asked. Lucario met Ash's eyes.

"_I sense danger is fast approaching," _Lucario said. _"As such, you must be trained in the use of Aura." _Silence fell. Ash looked down.

"…What kind of danger?" Ash questioned, the shadow caused by his hat hiding his eyes. Lucario sighed. He disliked having to admit his ignorance.

"_I do not know," _he answered, _"Only that you are in danger as well because of it."_ As he was looking to the side and not at Ash, he did not notice the creature that landed behind the young man.

"_He is correct, Chosen One," _interjected a new voice. Ash's eyes widened. Although it had been many years, he recognized that voice, as well as the title. He turned around.

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**A/N: **Ooh, cliffy! Sorry it's a short one; it did not want to be written, and the only part I personally like is the part with Mew and Lugia. And yes, I know that the Legendaries are genderless. I simply decided to give them genders for the story. I hope you liked it, and please review!

With love,

GabsGen


	17. Chap 16: Ash, Lugia, and Lucario

**A/N: **Hey all! This chapter is early, yay! Unfortunately, it's also short…oh, well. I hope you still like it! Enjoy, and thank you to all my reviewers!

**Disclaimer: **GabsGen doesn't own Pokemon, and especially not the awesomeness that is Lugia.

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Chapter Sixteen

When he turned around, Ash looked upon the dragon with the same awe as those many years ago on Shamouti Island. "Lugia," he breathed, his mind assaulting him with memories of flying on the magnificent Pokemon before him. Lucario's voice broke in.

_"Lugia? The Legendary Pokemon?" _he asked, eyes widened in disbelief. Not many people - or Pokemon - ever got a close-up look of any of the Legendaries, after all. The great blue and silver dragon nodded to Ash and Lucario, then returned his gaze to the young trainer before him. After a moment, he lowered his head and lightly butted Ash's chest.

"Wha?" Ash was bewildered; he somehow could expect that kind of behavior from regular Pokemon and the smaller Legendaries he had met, but not Lugia. His head still against Ash, Lugia glanced up at the boy and, seeing the look on his face, chuckled, his telepathic voice filling the minds of Ash and Lucario.

_"I have always wondered at the other Pokemon's fascination with doing this," _the Legendary chuckled. _"I am not sure it is for the sake of that reaction, but I feel it was worth it." _Ash blinked and tilted his head, a question on the way from his head to his lips.

"Lugia…" he started, "You said something about Lucario being right… What is he right about? The danger?" Lugia sighed and cast his eyes downward.

_"No one can accuse you of being unobservant now, it seems," _the Beast of the Sea murmured, pulling back from Ash. He looked to the horizon before turning back to Ash, his gaze hardened. _"Yes, this Lucario is correct in that there is danger coming, and that it involves you, Chosen One. Arceus ordered me, by way of Mew, to come warn and watch over you." _Ash sighed.

"Am I the Chosen One again, then?" Ash asked. "Because you're calling me Chosen One still…" He trailed off, looking at Lugia. The large Pokemon looked at Ash with a faintly surprised look on his face.

_"You have always been the Chosen One," _Lugia said. _"One does not simply _stop _being the Chosen One. It's a lifelong appointment."_

"Oh," Ash said in a small voice. His voice regained strength as he asked, "Do _you _know what the danger is? Lucario doesn't." Lugia sighed and shook his head.

_"Alas, I do not," _he said. _"According to Mew, Arceus doesn't know either. But," _and here Lugia lowered his telepathic voice to a whisper, _"I have no way of knowing how truthful Arceus was being while relaying information to Mew. He has been known to tell a white lie now and again, but I know not how far he'd go." _Ash and Lucario shared a startled look.

_"So not even the Legendaries know the extent of this coming danger?" _Lucario asked.

_"Not unless Arceus is lying," _Lugia answered, shaking his head. _"I can only sense an unease in the air, and the unease spikes slightly when you, Chosen One, are mentioned. This tells me you are part of this, and that you would benefit best from being protected."_

"And that's where you come in, Lugia?" Ash asked. Before Lugia could answer, the front door opened.

"Ash?" Misty asked as she came outside. "What's taking you and Lucario so…long…" She trailed off and her eyes widened when she saw the Legendary Pokemon.

_"A pleasure to see you again, young one," _Lugia intoned, inclining his head towards the redhead.

"Lugia…" Misty whispered as her hand came up to cover her mouth. After flicking her eyes between Ash and Lugia a couple times, she said, "I think the others, me included, deserve to know what's going on, if there's a Legendary here." Ash and Lugia shared a look, then human and Pokemon nodded.

Turning to Misty, Lugia said, _"Good idea, young one. Fetch your companions. The friends of the Chosen One need to know this as well." _Ash and Lugia both understood that being friends with Ash may put said friends in danger. They hoped that by knowing what was going on, that Ash's friends would be safer.

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**A/N: **Again, sorry for the shortness of the chapter. I have a little test this chapter. I saw it on another story, but I can't for the life of me remember what story it was. If you usually read(or skim) my notes, tell me your favorite Pokemon in your review. If you just happened to read(or skim) the notes today, tell me your favorite region in the Pokemon world(Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, etc.) in your review. I hope you liked the chapter, and please review!


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